By Tim Gaynor and Taha Zargoun SIRTE, Libya | Thu Oct 20, 2011 12:47pm EDT SIRTE, Libya (Reuters) - Muammar Gaddafi called the rebels who rose up against his 42-years of one-man rule "rats," but in the end it was he who was captured cowering in a drainage pipe full of rubbish and filth.

Footage obtained by Al Jazeera shows the body of the former Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi following his death in Sirte. Last Modified: 20 Oct 2011 14:37 Al Jazeera has acquired exclusive footage of the body of Muammar Gaddafi after he was killed in his hometown, Sirte.

By Rania El Gamal and Tim Gaynor SIRTE, Libya | Wed Oct 19, 2011 9:59pm EDT SIRTE, Libya (Reuters) - Libyan interim government fighters have renewed their offensive on the besieged town of Sirte after being pushed back by die-hard Muammar Gaddafi loyalists holed up in the deposed leader's home town.

Col. , who ruled for 42 years, died Thursday as his last stronghold fell to the Libyan forces that drove him from power, officials of Libya's transitional government said. There were conflicting initial reports of the specific circumstances of his death: some said he was killed in Surt, his hometown; others said he died while fleeing it.

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Muammar Gaddafi came to power in Libya in September 1969 as the leader of a bloodless military coup which overthrew the British-backed King Idris. He was 27 years old, inspired by Egyptian President Gamal Abdul Nasser and he seemed to fit the regional template of Arab nationalist from the military becoming president.